Jermaine Defoe was the second signing for Bournemouth this summer after they secured the signature of the Chelsea goalkeeper Asmir Begovic for the next season. The England veteran has been linked with a move to the South Coast club for quite a long time, and it has now finally taken place to make the Bournemouth fans really happy.
Defoe was playing with Sunderland in the last season, and he was in prolific form for the Black Cats throughout the term. He scored 15 goals for them, which made him their top scorer for the season. However, it was not enough to save the season for his club, who were relegated from the Premier League with four games left in their campaign.
The veteran striker, who had a release clause in his contract that enabled him to leave on a free transfer in case Sunderland gets relegated, has signed with the Cherries on a three-year deal. Defoe will be earning a £65000 per week basis salary and a chance to stay back in top flight football.
Bournemouth had performed well in the last season and they finished their campaign in the ninth position on the league table. However, Eddie Howe, their current man in charge, has been sceptical about their attack and has been looking to bring in someone as experienced as the 34-year-old striker to his team.
Defoe had played for the Premier League outfit before as well when he was loaned for a season from his club West Ham United to the Cherries. He showed sparks of his brilliant form in that season and netted the 18 times throughout the season, making him an immediate favourite among the Bournemouth fans.
Sunderland, on the other hand, have been facing some sort of an exodus of their top players after they became the first team from the last season to be pushed back into the Championship. They have already lost goalkeeper Jordan Pickford to Everton and also Fabio Borini, who made move back to Italy with the Serie A giants AC Milan. Defoe becomes the latest player to leave the Stadium of Light in the summer transfer window.
The 34-year-old has had a massive experience of playing for a number of different clubs in the Premier League, which makes it 468 games in total, with a goal tally of 159 under his belt. Bournemouth can hope to have a good term in prospect with Defoe in their squad for the next season.
